4 easy ways to avoid an elevator accident

Like many of your friends, you love to spend the day in the city shopping, seeing a movie or walking through a museum. Many commercial buildings have elevators. In fact, you have probably walked into countless ones without thinking much about your personal safety. Still, elevator accidents are likely more common than you think.

If you sustain an injury in an elevator, you may need to act quickly to seek compensation from the building’s owner. After all, in Georgia, the statute of limitations for premises liability cases is usually just two years. You may, however, be able to still use elevators while avoiding an accident altogether by simply remaining aware. Here are four easy suggestions:

1. Be patient

Elevator etiquette requires passengers to wait for others to exit before they walk into the elevator. Trying to hurry into an elevator may be a recipe for disaster. As such, you must be patient to minimize your chances of sustaining an injury.

2. Watch for signs of mechanical problems

Like all machines, elevators occasionally have mechanical problems. If an elevator does not seem to be functioning correctly, you should stay out of it.

3. Look for wet spots

You may sustain an injury in or near an elevator that has nothing to do with the elevator itself. That is, the areas inside and outside of an elevator may be slippery. Nonetheless, calling and boarding an elevator can be distracting. By slowing down and paying attention to your surroundings, you decrease your chances of a slip or fall.

4. Respect the elevator’s doors

You have probably noticed that most elevators have safety features to prevent doors from closing on passengers. You should not, however, depend on these features to keep you safe. Instead, never put your arms, legs or belongings inside a closing elevator door.

Elevator injuries can be serious. While you may be able to pursue compensation from the elevator’s owner, you may have life-long health complications from an elevator accident. Avoiding one entirely is a better strategy.